ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas on Wednesday announced that he is temporarily abandoning active politics following his party’s loss in the latest elections.
Demirtas, former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), said in a tweet that he is retiring from “active politics at this stage,” apologizing for “failing to put forward a policy worthy of our people.”
Turkey held parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14, with HDP losing six seats compared to the 2018 vote. The party sent 61 members to the 600-seat legislature. The party and Demirtas have been criticized for supporting Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, in the presidential poll - which was won by President Erdogan after entering a runoff - despite their concerns over the opposition candidate’s comments regarding Kurds and refugees during his latest campaign.
“Thank you for constructive criticism towards me. I will try to benefit from the criticism,” added Demirtas in the tweet which he said was part of an to-be-published written interview with a news outlet.
Demirtas, who has been in jail since 2016 for terror-related charges, stepped down as the co-chair of the HDP in 2018.
The 50-year-old politician has actively commented on his case and political developments on his Twitter account which has over 2.5 million followers and is believed to be administered by his lawyers who frequently visit him in jail.
Kilicdaroglu had promised to release Demirtas if he won the vote but the winner of the election, incumbent president Erdogan, said in his victory speech in Ankara late Sunday that he would keep the Kurdish politician behind bars.
Demirtas ran twice against Erdogan during 2014 and 2018 presidential elections, gaining less than 10 percent both times.
The HDP on Monday defended Demirtas after some Erdogan supporters reportedly called for his execution.
“These empty threats cannot deter us or our friends who were unlawfully taken hostage,” said the party.